MICHAEL KNOWLES (HOST, MICHAEL KNOWLES SHOW): I think that this rhetoric might resonate. The trouble for Democrats is I don't think it's going to resonate in the way they want to. The trouble with the rhetoric is that it's not reminding voters of why we don't like Trump. It's reminding voters of why we don't like them. It's the same attacks we’ve heard over and over, he's a racist, he's a bigot, he's a this, he's a that. But what this rhetoric does is it reminds us of their own failures. So Barack Obama goes out on the campaign trail and he says that Donald Trump is a shameless liar. Donald Trump has a pretty good record on keeping his promises. Barack Obama, not so much. It reminds us of all those awful lies of his administration. If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor.

In the wake of Pittsburgh, they're now blaming President Trump for violence, for anti-Semitism in particular. President Trump is probably the most pro-Jewish president in American history. There is a train station named after him in Jerusalem. Meanwhile, Democratic figures like Barack Obama are smiling in photographs with Louis Farrakhan. And then finally, you have Hillary Clinton going out saying things are so awful under President Trump she may run for president again. And this reminds us of why we voted for Trump in the first place.

...

STEVE DOOCY (CO-HOST): You're saying the left is amping up the violence?

KNOWLES: Absolutely. There is, you know, there is violence on the fringes of both sides, sure, but in the mainstream, the violence is only on the left. On the mainstream of political parties it's only being encouraged by Democrats -- roving gangs of antifa running Portland, Oregon, people harassing Republicans in restaurants, where they sleep. This does not look good to voters. Even the mob violence and the lynch mobs coming for Brett Kavanaugh, I think that was a decisive moment as well. And when voters see this on television, absolutely we should talk about how awful the fringes are of both parties. But, if one is encouraging mainstream violence, I think voters are going to reject that at the ballot box.

DOOCY: Well, Michael, you're suggesting that the rhetoric, which you're right, is sharp on both sides. But the rhetoric on the left is going to backfire on them? Why not backfire on the right?

KNOWLES: It's going to backfire on them because they've gone too far. The trouble with making the elections about Donald Trump is we've all known Donald Trump for 30 years. He's been a tabloid legend. Everyone knows all of his flaws and they also know that he is not a fascist, he’s not a racist, he's not a bigot. So they're the boy who cried wolf and it creates a big credibility problem for them, and it reminds us of all of those failures of their eight years governing the country that they were hoping we would have forgotten under the first two years of Trump.

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